


yours,

by lesmiserablol



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Post-Canon, fluff with an angsty ending, like the opposite of angst with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26803789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “This is why I wanted to tell him in person,” Sokka groans, pacing by the fire as the sun sets on another day with no arrival of a letter.“As requested, I am here to remind you that you tried to tell him in person during each of your last three visits to the Fire Nation and his last four trips here,” Hakoda says with a smirk. “And you chickened out every time.”(or, Sokka confesses his love to Zuko in a letter, and then waits for the chance to tell him in person)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 180
Kudos: 351





	yours,

_Dear Zuko,_

_That’s right, no nicknames, I was too distracted thinking about the rest of this letter to bother coming up with a new one, I’m sure you are so disappointed._

_Anyway. This letter is actually kinda serious, so bear with me. I was going to tell you in person, but I kept chickening out, and then I woke up this morning and decided to do it this way, and I’m following through before I change my mind (again)._

_I love you, Zuko. As in, more than a friend. I’m very much in love with you and I have been for...a long time, probably. I don’t know what you’re going to say to this. I know you’re busy with your nation and I’m busy with my tribe and maybe this will complicate things and I don’t know when we’ll see each other again and I’m rambling now because I’m nervous but I want to be honest and I don’t want to hide this from you because you’re first and foremost my best friend. Don’t ever forget that._

_Sincerely,_

_Sokka_

Was that a weird way to end it? He had never ended a letter to Zuko with “sincerely”, it had always been “love” or “your friend”. He had read the letter through thirty times, got tired of overthinking it, and then sent it on impulse, watching the messenger hawk fly away with a mix of regret and relief. The days since sending it had given him plenty of time to rethink every little detail of the letter. 

“It’s fine, Sokka, you’re just overthinking it,” Katara says for the tenth time that day. 

“This is why I wanted to tell him in person,” he groans, pacing by the fire as the sun sets on another day with no arrival of a letter. 

His father and Bato watch in amusement, giving each other a knowing look that says something along the lines of _“Ah, yes, young love.”_

“As requested, I am here to remind you that you tried to tell him in person during each of your last three visits to the Fire Nation and his last four trips here,” Hakoda says with a smirk. “And you chickened out every time.”

Sokka shoots him a glare and opens his mouth, ready to remind his father that he took three years to confess his love to his best friend before remembering that he and Zuko have been friends for seven years and he isn’t even sure how many of those years he spent being in love with him. He closes his mouth and keeps pacing. 

“Do you think he’s trying to ignore me? Or reject me?” he asks instead. 

“Sokka,” Bato starts gently. “It’s only been a few days. He might not have received the letter yet, let alone found time to respond.”

Sokka nods. He wonders what Zuko would be doing now if he did receive it. Was the letter forgotten in a pile of important memos and documents? Did he glance over it and make a note to respond later only to forget about it completely?

No. Zuko isn’t like that. 

Sokka knows that Zuko isn’t like that. He knows that no matter what, Zuko won’t stop being his friend. That doesn’t make the days after sending the letter any easier. Days spent pacing and not sleeping and wanting to jump on an airship and talk to Zuko. He always backed out of confessing his feelings in person, why did he think this was a logical solution? To spill it out and then be forced to wait an eternity for Zuko’s reaction?

His father and Bato put him to work, happy to indulge Sokka’s requests for distractions. He pores over plans and trading routes, he makes notes and creates plans. Most of all, he tries not to spend too much time outside watching the sky for a messenger hawk. 

It comes late in the afternoon as he makes his way to dinner, giving the sky a routine glance once he is outside of his igloo. The sky is empty, but he does a double take at the hawk perched on top of a nearby igloo, staring right at him. 

He stares back at the hawk, stomach plunging somewhere into the icy water below. A few moments pass and he realizes it’s not a trick of his imagination, he hasn’t lost his mind from stress, but there is undoubtedly a real hawk watching him. 

He whoops and hollers and excitedly grabs for the letter as the hawk watches him warily. He recognizes Zuko’s handwriting immediately. He holds it as tight as he can without tearing or crumpling it and runs to find Katara, who takes one look at him and smirks. 

“So?” she asks. “What did he say?”

“I haven’t-” Sokka pants. “I haven’t read it yet. I was too excited to tell you that it came, I-“

“Stop procrastinating, Sokka, just open it!” she urges impatiently, and he shuts his mouth and focuses on the letter in his trembling hands. 

He opens it carefully and reads in silence.

**_Sokka,_ **

**_I love you, too. I have for a long time. I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid._ **

**_Can I come visit you in three weeks? I also wanted to tell you in person, but I can always repeat it when I get to see you again. Let me know if that works. If you say yes, of course. Which you don’t have to do. But I have a feeling you will._ **

**_Yours,_ **

**_Zuko_ **

_Yours_. That is how Zuko always signs his letters to Sokka, but now it sounds more personal, more intimate than it ever has before. 

“Well?” Katara asks, after giving her brother enough time to read it over four times. 

He jumps, having almost forgotten that she is there, and then looks up with a smile. “He loves me,” he responds quietly, reverently. 

Katara rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling almost as widely as her brother. “Of course he does. Neither of you were subtle, you know.”

_Zuko,_

_YES PLEASE! I cannot wait to see you. This will be the longest three weeks of my life._

_Love,_

_Sokka_

**Sokka,**

**Congrats on getting your shit together. Zuko looks so happy, I can only imagine how happy you are right now!**

**Love,**

**Suki**

**_Dear Sokka,_ **

**_I look forward to seeing you then. This time I will try not to forget my coat. Although you should know, I always did that on purpose so that you would give me your spare. It smells like you and reminds me of the first time you took me hunting in the South Pole._ **

**_Yours,_ **

**_Zuko_ **

_Sunshine,_

_You cheesy , cheesy dork. I should have known. Don’t worry about bringing your own coat, I think you look perfect in mine. It took a long time of feeling like my stomach was full of fritillaries when I looked at you in that coat to realize I cared for you more than a friend._

_Love,_

_Sokka_

**_Dear Sokka,_ **

**_And you call me cheesy? Please tell me we can go star gazing while we are there. Every single time we have done that in the past few years I imagined what it would be like if I kissed you under the stars. I intend on finding out. In seventeen days._ **

**_Yours,_ **

**_Zuko_ **

_My love,_

_Well, when you put it that way, I have to take you stargazing now. But for the record, I will not wait any longer than absolutely necessary to kiss you. Good luck getting off your ship unscathed. _

_Love,_

_Sokka_

**_Dear Sokka,_ **

**_You better follow through, I will hold you to that statement. Only twelve more days._ **

**_Your love,_ **

**_Zuko_ **

_Zu,_

_I fully intend on following through. Katara says hi, by the way. She saw the way I was smiling and knew I was writing a letter to you. By the way, do you have any servants writing these letters for you, because if so, I need to step up and find some worthy consultants to help me up my letter writing game. Only the best for the freakin' Fire Lord._

_Love,_

_Sokka_

**_Dear Sokka,_ **

**_I have servants who write out my letters, yes, but not yours. The hawk usually arrives in the middle of the day and I don’t open it until the evening so I can spend all day looking forward to what you have to say. It never fails to make me smile. You never fail to make me smile. After that I write to you, and before I know it I am again waiting for you to receive my letter and send one back. I like the anticipation of writing to you, but even more I like the anticipation of seeing you again in six days._ **

**_Yours,_ **

**_Zuko_ **

**_PS I think your letter game is perfect the way it is. I can hear your voice in every line. Have I mentioned that I love you?_ **

_Fire Lord Jerkbender,_

_Only three days now. I don’t know how time has flown so quickly. I think it helps that I am always waiting for your letters. I have always been excited for them, but now it’s different. I like it. I like you. I love you._

_Love,_

_Sokka_

* * *

"He was supposed to be here two days ago," Sokka sighs, watching the sun sink with a sense of dread that has been growing by the hour.

The morning of Zuko's supposed arrival, Hakoda and Bato had teased him for all the time he spent pacing and watching the sky for any sign of Zuko's airship. Katara hadn't bothered to join in the teasing, she knows she is the same way when she gets news that Aang is on his way. But now they're all quiet as they sit with him around the fire, his hand grasping Katara's tightly. The exhaustion from days of pacing and staring at the walls of the igloo instead of sleeping had finally caught up to him. This is the most he has sat still in a long time.

"I'm sure there's a good explanation," his sister says gently.

"Maybe they experienced some bad weather and couldn't leave, or maybe they left and had to turn around," Hakoda suggests, even though they all know this time of year brings good weather for flying. He appreciates his dad's attempt at making him feel better, but his throat feels too tight to answer.

"Sokka, we know that you're worried, but maybe you should try and get some sleep," Bato says.

Sokka stares at the flames instead of responding, but the fire only makes him feel worse as it reminds him of Zuko. He pretends that the heat behind his eyes is from exhaustion and shuts them tightly, leaning his head on his sister's shoulder.

"Something doesn't feel right," he whispers. "He said he would be here."

He hears Bato and Hakoda whispering but can't distinguish what they are saying over the crackling of the fire wood and the thoughts running through his head. Katara lets go of his hand so she can properly wrap an arm around his shoulder and pull him close to her side to hold him. He doesn't want to sleep. He's worried and anxious and stressed out, even more so than when he had sent Zuko the initial love letter. But next thing he knows, he is being nudged awake by Katara, who walks with him to her igloo and pulls the blankets close around them both like when they were kids and would huddle for warmth.

* * *

"Sokka!"

Sokka's mind feels foggy, still in a haze from sleeping for so long. He blinks his eyes open and squints against the bright daylight coming from outside, finding the outline of Katara kneeling in the entrance of his igloo. He blinks some more and sees that she is smiling at him.

"Sokka, come outside, quick!" she urges, and then turns her head to talk to someone outside. "One minute!"

Someone replies back, and Sokka sits up immediately.

"Is that...?" he starts, breathless.

Katara smiles even wider. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Sokka has never gotten out of bed so quickly in his life. Katara moves as he rushes outside, not feeling the chill despite forgetting his coat. He had correctly recognized the voice-

"Zuko!" he gasps, days of built up tension gone in an instant as he runs the few steps to greet him.

Zuko grins at him and opens his arms, holding Sokka in a tight embrace.

Sokka quickly discovers how unsuccessful he is at trying to control himself as a few tears escape his eyes, his breaths shuddering with every exhale. The two of them stand like that for several moments before Sokka composes himself and pulls away just enough so he can look in Zuko's face.

"I thought...I don't know, I was so worried, and there was no letter..." he rambles, and Zuko moves one hand to cup his cheek and wipe away the tears there, his hand much colder than normal. Sokka gasps as he realizes Zuko is just in the clothes he usually wears around the Fire Nation. "You must be freezing, when did you get here, where is your airship-"

"Sokka." It's quiet, but forceful enough that it shuts Sokka up right away.

"Sokka." This time it's Katara's voice, and he turns around. "Sokka!"

He opens his eyes. He's back in Katara's igloo, and it takes him several moments to realize he was just dreaming.

Disappointment courses through him and the lingering relief from his dream fades as he rubs his eyes and looks at Katara's face. Like she had done in the dream, she's kneeling in the entrance. But unlike the dream, she is not smiling.

"What's wrong?" he asks with a frown, sitting up and moving her blankets aside. "Did you lose the earrings that Aang sent you again? I thought I saw..." he trails off as he notices that she is clutching a letter in her trembling hands. 

"What's wrong, Katara?" he asks again, suddenly wide awake as fear seizes him. He doesn't recognize the handwriting from this distance.

She hands him the letter and then moves over to sit next to him as he reads.

**Katara and Sokka,**

**It’s Mai. I’m sorry you have to find out about this through a letter, but I wanted you to know as quickly as possible and I don’t know who would be able to get to you soon enough with everything going on here.**

**There was another assassination attempt this week. This time it was successful. I’m so sorry. Come as soon as you can.**

**Mai**

* * *

~~_D_ ~~

~~_Dear Z_ ~~

~~_Zuko,_ ~~

~~_My sunshine,_ ~~

~~_I have been_ ~~

~~_It’s been one week_ ~~

~~_Dear Zuko,_ ~~

~~_I love you. That much is still true_ ~~

_Dear Zuko,_

_I just got home from the funeral. Your funeral. It was a long week. Being in the Fire Nation didn’t feel real. I kept expecting you to turn the corner, but you never did. I kept waiting to see your outline by the turtleduck pond, but it didn’t happen. And every time I looked for you and didn’t see you, I was reminded of why you weren’t there._

_I’m glad Katara and Aang were there. They kept me calm. That first night I wanted to storm through all of the Fire Nation to find who killed you, but when I showed up he was already captured, and I didn’t know what to do. So I grieved._

_Suki blames herself. She wishes she had been on duty that night. I told her you wouldn’t want her to think like that. I know you wouldn’t._

_I don’t know what I’ll do with this letter. If I’m smart I’ll crumple it up and add it to the fire. If I’m feeling particularly hopeful maybe I’ll give it to a hawk and ask it to find you._

_Don’t worry about sending back a response, though. I’ll tell myself you’re too busy._

_I love you. I’m glad I told you, but I regret not saying it sooner. Maybe we could have had time. I guess we’ll never know, so I’ll have to be okay with everything we had before. I love you, I love you, I love you._

_Yours,_

_Sokka_

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> [tumblr](http://www.bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com)
> 
> Go read the sequel written by whattheelizabeth if you want to cry some more: [under the light of the stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836768)


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